Obama's worry: A nuke in Manhattan

Mar. 25, 2014
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President Obama / SAUL LOEB, AFP/Getty Images

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

In disputing Mitt Romney's claim that Russia is the nation's top foe, President Obama on Tuesday provided a bracing image of a bigger threat.

A nuclear attack in New York City.

"I continue to be much more concerned when it comes to our security with the prospect of a nuclear weapon going off in Manhattan," Obama told reporters after this year's Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands.

Ever since 9/11, government officials in both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations have expressed concern about a nuclear attack by terrorist groups.

Romney, who during the 2012 campaign said Russia is the United States' "number one geopolitical foe," has in recent days criticized Obama for "faulty judgment" in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Obama, who defeated Romney in the 2012 election, said Russia is threatening Ukraine and other neighbors "not out of strength, but out of weakness."

Russia's actions "are a problem," Obama said, but "they don't pose the number one national security threat to the United States."